Joe Teti, Dual Survivor, Military Service and Honor.

Posted onAuthorJon Almada

Attribution: By Regargia (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I’m a retired webmaster, having worked for many moons in the spacecraft and propulsion business. Life for me is a lot easier and I’ve begun training myself for more outdoor activities including bushcrafting for fun and potentially even perhaps some career options down the road. I love the outdoors, having spent much time in it as a kid and although I couldn’t join the military due to my physical health, I have had a great affinity and respect for our military throughout my life. Without them, this nation would be no more.

One of my favorite shows on survival was Discovery Channel’s Dual Survival and my all time favorite host was Joe Teti. For about 2 years, Joe was the unabashed star of the series along with Matt Graham and it saddened me to hear about Joe suddenly departing the series after a mysterious series of posts appeared accusing him supposedly killing a dog on a production set. I researched further into this event and the rumor was that Joe intervened to stop a cat from being killed. The media made much fodder off of this and left the clear implication that Joe was some kind of mad killer and he was given the boot as the articles and web forums blazed with news of all of this.

I put very little stock in any of these reports. And I note with great empathy to all public figures that they become targets the minute they achieve any measure of fame. I look at the dog killing story with a critical eye and even if Joe had done this, not a single news outlet has made any mention about Joe coming to the rescue of the cat! If the story holds water, then one can in all fairness see a man who was attempting to do something noble and it went awry. My suspicions are that there is FAR more to these tales than meets the eye and that a lot of these claims  are complete hooey.

I was also aware, even in mid-2015 of allegations that Joe was not the soldier he claimed to be and as of this writing in 2018, I’ve seen enough articles with proof of his military service to indicate that Joe has been more than true to his word of his veteran’s status and his combat record. I will provide links to some of the material I found later in this article, but I want to address the question of the terrible thing about fame that I call “The Green Eyed Monster”.

Jealousy is a pretty nasty creature. And it can cause people to say and do all sorts of terrible things to assuage the slights people feel they must address in order to achieve their goal of feeling vindicated. Without naming names, I can only say that it’s a sad thing to see these same people’s names over and over again, attacking Mr. Teti while he himself remains silent, other than the few positive comments he’s given the public since his exit from Dual Survival. It is 2018 and these folks are STILL at it. Give it a rest guys… Joe’s silence is speaking clearly and at much louder volume that all of the posts you continue to put out in chat forums, YouTube and other social media. Put your energy into positive things like survival teaching and character development.

Joe’s record is pretty interesting since it shows he did service in the Marines as well as the National Guard Special Forces as well as doing contractor work that was an extension of his military career. I believe him when he says that he cannot comment on the nature of his work in the field for his contracting work and it is pretty clear he was doing what he claims to have done. There are some who claim he is no veteran but Discovery Channel had earlier assured everyone they HAD vetted him and that he was the real deal. So it is pretty clear he’s been through the ringer being examined and I’d bet good money on his claims.

I have never met or talked with Joe, but if I could meet in person, I’d shake his hand and ask to sit and listen to his side of the story. He’s been denied a forum from which to speak for years and my only gentle observation for him is that perhaps the time has come to speak up, do some media work and even write a book about the good things that happened and to ignore all the negative noise.

Joe – You deserve to be heard Brother. I hope to hear your side of it since we’ve all heard from the other side is unrelenting fury and anger for 4 or 5 years now… People still care Joe. God Bless and take care.

Links of interest:

Surv Tac 7 Knife